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Willamette River at Albany

Highest listed crest 41.00 ftFlood stage 25.0 ft18 crests since 1861

The Willamette River at Albany crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 18 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1861 to 2019. The highest, 41.00 ft on December 4, 1861, was major flooding, 16.00 feet above flood stage. 4 other gauges on the Willamette River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 3 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
41.00 ft
December 4, 1861; 340,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
25.0 ft
Major flooding from 32.0 ft
Crests at major
2
36th of 100 gauges in Oregon
Most recent flood crest
April 11, 2019
27.34 ft, minor flooding
Location
Linn County
Near Albany (1.0 mi), Corvallis (9.7 mi), Lebanon (12.3 mi)

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, Willamette River at Albany
Action stage21.62Dec 20, 2015The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)25.011Apr 11, 2019Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage30.01Feb 9, 1996Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage32.02Dec 24, 1964Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

18 crests from 1861 to 2019. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Willamette River at Albany, 1861 to 2019 202530354045ft Flood stage 25.0 ftMajor 32.0 ft Dec 4, 1861: 41.00 ft, major flooding; 340,000 cubic feet per secondDec 23, 1955: 26.70 ft, minor flooding; 155,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 12, 1961: 27.71 ft, minor flooding; 165,000 cubic feet per secondDec 24, 1964: 33.93 ft, major flooding; 186,000 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 1972: 27.10 ft, minor flooding; 102,000 cubic feet per secondJan 17, 1974: 29.00 ft, minor flooding; 118,000 cubic feet per secondDec 7, 1981: 26.04 ft, minor flooding; 94,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1986: 25.37 ft, minor flooding; 90,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 1996: 30.05 ft, moderate flooding; 125,000 cubic feet per secondNov 21, 1996: 27.87 ft, minor flooding; 101,000 cubic feet per secondJan 2, 1997: 27.25 ft, minor floodingDec 30, 1998: 25.32 ft, minor flooding; 85,700 cubic feet per secondJan 15, 2000: 20.22 ft, below flood stage; 60,300 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 2006: 25.51 ft, minor flooding; 86,688 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 2012: 24.57 ft, action stage; 81,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 2014: 21.59 ft, below flood stage; 67,300 cubic feet per secondDec 20, 2015: 23.21 ft, action stage; 76,300 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 2019: 27.34 ft, minor flooding; 99,300 cubic feet per second Highest, 41.00 ft, Dec 4, 1861 18801900192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Willamette River at Albany 1860s: 1 1870s: 0 1880s: 0 1890s: 0 1900s: 0 1910s: 0 1920s: 0 1930s: 0 1940s: 0 1950s: 1 1960s: 2 1970s: 2 1980s: 2 1990s: 4 4 2000s: 1 2010s: 1 1860s1880s1900s1920s1940s1960s1980s2000s
  1. These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
  2. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.
  3. 10 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 27.80 ft on Jan 14, 1881; 28.90 ft on Feb 4, 1890; 31.20 ft on Jan 15, 1901; 26.30 ft on Jan 26, 1903; 31.70 ft on Feb 6, 1907; 31.00 ft on Nov 24, 1909; and more.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Willamette River at Albany
1Dec 4, 186141.00+16.00Major340,000
2Dec 24, 196433.93+8.93Major186,000
3Feb 9, 199630.05+5.05Moderate125,000
4Jan 17, 197429.00+4.00Minor118,000
5Nov 21, 199627.87+2.87Minor101,000
6Feb 12, 196127.71+2.71Minor165,000
7Apr 11, 201927.34+2.34Minor99,300
8Jan 2, 199727.25+2.25Minor—
9Jan 23, 197227.10+2.10Minor102,000
10Dec 23, 195526.70+1.70Minor155,000
11Dec 7, 198126.04+1.04Minor94,700
12Jan 19, 200625.51+0.51Minor86,688
13Feb 24, 198625.37+0.37Minor90,400
14Dec 30, 199825.32+0.32Minor85,700
15Jan 21, 201224.57−0.43Action81,800
16Dec 20, 201523.21−1.79Action76,300
17Feb 17, 201421.59−3.41Below flood stage67,300
18Jan 15, 200020.22−4.78Below flood stage60,300

The worst floods along the Willamette River

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Willamette River that crested above flood stage within a week.

December 4, 1861: 41.00 ft here, major flooding

  • Falls at Oregon CityOR · Dec 5, 1861 · 48.00 ft · Major
  • SalemOR · Dec 4, 1861 · 47.00 ft · Major · its highest
  • CorvallisOR · Dec 1, 1861 · 42.40 ft · Major · its highest
  • HarrisburgOR · Dec 4, 1861 · 23.00 ft · Major · its highest

December 24, 1964: 33.93 ft here, major flooding

February 9, 1996: 30.05 ft here, moderate flooding

Gauges on the Willamette River

In USGS station-number order, which runs downstream within a river basin.

Flood gauges on the Willamette River
EugeneOR23.024.80 ft, Feb 10, 19610
HarrisburgOR14.023.00 ft, Dec 4, 18616
CorvallisOR30.042.40 ft, Dec 1, 18616
Albany this gaugeOR25.041.00 ft, Dec 4, 18612
SalemOR28.047.00 ft, Dec 4, 18617
Falls at Oregon CityOR64.071.30 ft, Feb 5, 199010
Falls at Oregon CityOR27.050.50 ft, Feb 5, 18906
PortlandOR18.033.00 ft, Jun 7, 18947

Other gauges in Linn County

Flood gauges in Linn County
Waterloo12.024.50 ft, Dec 22, 196410
Jefferson15.024.22 ft, Dec 22, 19642
Scio18.020.08 ft, Jan 19, 20121
Harrisburg14.023.00 ft, Dec 4, 18616

Linn County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Oregon

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge ALBO3, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.